Wench
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
After weeks of reading mediocre literature, I was about to give up and forego my nightly ritual that I've had since childhood of reading until I go to sleep. Luckily, I came across Perkins-Valdez's novel, Wench, which had me riveted.
The story involves a group of four female friends, who are slaves, and their vacations to the "free country" up North. All of the women are involved sexually with their Masters, and the protagonist, Lizzie, is in love with her Master, Drayle. The women are constantly tempted to run for freedom, especially when they discover free blacks in Dayton, and are befriended by a white Quaker woman. They experience an extreme of unpleasant situations and adversity; I began to really ache for their heartaches, but the characters seemed to accept most of the situations as normal--which in itself is heartbreaking.
The only thing that I did not understand was the love Lizzie had for Drayle--I really didn't see a love story there, and I assume I am not supposed to. However, Lizzie seemed more intent on manipulating Drayle for special favors than being in love with him.
Perkins-Valdez uses realistic dialogue and smooth, cadenced narration to create an unforgettable historical fiction novel.
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